USPS Goes Global With 2013 International Rate Stamp

Here’s your first look at the 2013 international rate stamp, which we’re calling Global Forever®. With this stamp you’ll be able to mail a 1-ounce First-Class Mail International letter anywhere in the world.

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The stamp shows the Atlantic Ocean flanked by the Americas, Africa, and part of northern Europe. Italian artist Leonello Calvetti used a variety of maps, primarily from NASA, to create his design. With 3D computer technology, he was able to modify depth, vary color, and create subtle light and shadow details on terrain surfaces to achieve a high level of photorealism while also attaining something new.

“I always have been fascinated by space and what astronauts could see from out there,” Calvetti says. “As an artist, an illustrator, I wanted to make my own representation of the Earth.”

The Global Forever stamp will be issued in self-adhesive sheets of 20 stamps, each with a denomination of $1.10, or $22.00 per sheet. A release date has not yet been set.

What do you think of the stamp’s “global” shape?